anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination

"Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination." - Oscar Wilde

I reckoned the other day that there isn't much betwixt those who who read this blog and those who write it. I admit I'm not even sure the word betwixt is befitting here - I simply like that word, betwixt. Betwixt means

1. In the space which separates; between.

From betwixt two aged oaks. Milton.

2. From one to another of; mutually affecting.

There was some speech of marriage Betwixt myself and her. Shakespeare.

...and I like the etymology of betwixt, from two each: Etymology: Middle English, from Old English betwux, from be- + -twux (akin to Gothic tweihnai two each).

Anyhow, the point is that I realized that although Truth is a pathless land ala Krishnamurti, there are a couple of well trodden paths of desire.

The people that tend to congregate here, and congregrate in my life, tend to be those that are foolish enough to take the road less travelled and embark on the most direct, most "dangerous" (they say) path to enlightenment. Setting sail at Beauty and marching straight right through the Abyss, according to the mystical tradition of the Qabbalah. (One variation of being mine own, which is the Path of the High Priestess through Art.)

So considering my next theme here at Crossroads Dispatches that would help each of us, collectively I turned to my handy mirror to the Soul (the Soul bridging the material world and the spiritual - hmmm, I write that as if there were any betwixt between Samsara and Nirvana), the Tarot...

...and pulled the card: Wealth, or the 10 of Pentacles.

A very good choice, I should say. Sometimes the Pentacles are called Disks, Coins, Gold or Diamonds and its elemental ruler is Earth... "This Suit is grounded in the material and physical world, symbolic of accomplishment and manifestation. Disks represent Manifestation, physical expression in the world, physical creation."

The 10 of Pentacles is one of the most auspicious cards in the Tarot deck, besides World. Don't know about you, but the timing of this theme couldn't be better for me.

"The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible." - Oscar Wilde

It's no secret that I'm no fan of The Secret. I'm well aware there is a fine line between white and black magic, & miracles and manipulation.

My interest in Wealth is not necessarily to conjure up jewels, or bicycles, or mansions, although the other day I did have a nice plate of sundried tomato grits and fresh biscuit smothered with a basil butter. Nope, my dream is more global, aye galactic, in nature: a world shrouded in enchantment and mystery and beauty and intimate friendship is more up my alley:

“You may already be an Anarchist.

It's true. If your idea of healthy human relations is a dinner with friends, where everyone enjoys everyone else's company, responsibilities are divided up voluntarily and informally, and no one gives orders or sells anything, then you are an anarchist, plain and simple. The only question that remains is how you can arrange for more of your interactions to resemble this model.” - from fighting for our lives: an anarchist primer

It's not that I want "more" as much as sometimes I'm noting we use "lack" as an excuse to not fully express our true selves.

"If you wish to understand others, you must intensify your own individualism." - Oscar Wilde

And I don't want to forget that the buck always stops Here. Reminded of a favorite bumper sticker I once saw: "Are We Here Yet?"

"We're programmed to constantly expect more, work harder, climb higher. But true abundance eludes us until we learn to put our whole attention into what we're doing now. Until we master this present moment awareness, nothing we achieve will ever make us happy or whole. Any time you catch yourself saying "If only..." this week, slip back into the sensual lushness of your present moment experience. This is the space where miracles happen." - this week's Libra horoscope over at D.K. Brainard's site

Talking about Wealth means I'll be talking about alchemy. Which isn't about turning base metals into gold so much. The Harry Potter books brought 14th century Parisien bookseller and alchemist Nicholas Flamel back into the limelight. Flamel and his wife never went without, and gave generously to his community erecting hospitals for the poor and the like. Legend has it, he's the only one whom ever located the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, or the secret of gold and eternal life:

"This book fell into the hands of precisely the man who was destined to receive it; and he, with the help of the text and the hieroglyphic diagrams that taught the transmutation of metals into gold, accomplished the transmutation of his soul, which is a far rarer and more wonderful operation."

"Ordinary riches can be stolen, real riches cannot. In your soul are infinitely precious things that cannot be taken from you." - Oscar Wilde

p.s.  Friend last week: "God's work just doesn't pay."

Me: "Lately I'm finding the opposite to be true; it's becoming the only thing that does."

Bonus: A bit more on the 10 of Pentacles, Wealth card:

"Therefore, in it is drawn the very figure of the Tree of Life itself. This card, to the other thirty-five small cards, is what the twenty-first Trump, The Universe, is to the rest of the Trumps." - Ten of Disks, from Super Tarot

"When drawing the Ten of Pentacles in a reading, it symbolizes everything positive in the suit of Pentacles. Wealth, material abundance, abundant gardens, family happiness, happy home, traditional marriage, loyalty, love, your wishes will come true." - Ten of Pentacles, by PurpleLady

images Lady with Fan, Gustav Klimt (1917); opium den via Apothecary's Blotter Art Gallery; cover of Journal des Demoiselles, Fashionable dresses for young ladies

Comments

[Loofa]

Odd - I touched on some of the same themes in my entry today. A couple of quotes I mentioned:

"My riches consist not in the extent of my possessions, but in the fewness of my wants."
J. Brotherton

"I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money."
Pablo Picasso

Also, I thought it was curious that you wrote about the foolishness of taking the road less travelled. Of course, I think your take on the foolish, in this context, is a lot like my own.

[Josh]

Evelyn;

Wow! I just finished ALMOST booking a ticket to NYC and then put it off because of a recent arrival of an enormous gas bill. Flip over to you blog and find some inspiring stuff. It was nice to get to meet you in NOLA sorry you were on your way out. Can wealth exist in a non-dualistic world? I should read more of the blog before I start asking questions.

Another reader

Bywater Josh

[Rita]

Evelyn -

I wanted to put it out there again - I can feel it. The energies of all the ideas being aligned now - reading your blog entries, other groups I belong to, my own thoughts, my business. Everyting is coming together in the most beautiful of ways. I've learned being aware is one part Knowing is a nother. Then accepting and finally committing to action makes the energies align. I think I am finally there to start and continue... Thank you -

[Siona]

Evelyn!

Oh, my ferocious and sweet anarchist mystic (though I think that might be redundant!)... I love your words so much.

And I only wanted to say that I went to see Adyashanti tonight (though I loved the satsang I'm not sure I'll be going back) and you were very much in my heart.

[Nick]

"In solitary uplands far away,
Betwixt the blossoms of a rosy spray,
Dreaming upon the wonderful sweet face,
Of Nature, in a wild and pathless place."
..
Oh Evelyn this Tennyson poem speaks so much of you. And you're right... there's more betwixt summer and the sun than there is between us. X

[Tom Asacker]

I said to the wanting-creature inside me:
What is this river you want to cross?
There are no travelers on the river-road, and no road.
Do you see anyone moving about on that bank, or nesting?

There is no river at all, and no boat, and no boatman.
There is no tow rope either, and no one to pull it.
There is no ground, no sky, no time, no bank, no ford!

And there is no body, and no mind!
Do you believe there is some place that will make the soul less thirsty?
In that great absence you will find nothing.

Be strong then, and enter into your own body; there you have a solid place for your feet.
Think about it carefully!
Don't go off somewhere else!

Kabir says this: just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things,
and stand firm in that which you are.

--Kabir

[Marilyn]

"God's work just doesn't pay." Me: "Lately I'm finding the opposite to be true; it's becoming the only thing that does." AMEN to that.

[Princess Haiku]

You have a delightful and whimsical blog. I found you via Moon River's post about you. Will come for return visits.